Jazz fest cancelled, Just for Laughs postponed
JFL moves to fall, jazz fest cancelled and Fringe won’t return until 2021
Summer will certainly not be the same in Festival City this year.
The bad news is there will be little mirth on our streets, at a time when we could use all the mirth that can be mustered in light of the coronavirus crisis.
The good news is that while Just for Laughs has postponed its events in July, the festival will at least take place, Sept. 29 to Oct. 11, JFL announced Friday.
That’s great news for many among the 75 per cent of JFL staff who were recently laid off.
Not long after JFL announced Friday morning that it was postponing, word came that the Montreal International Jazz Festival and Les Francos de Montréal were both cancelling this year’s editions “in order to protect the public, the artists and our employees.” Ticket-holders will be alerted as to what will transpire.
The Montreal Fringe Festival won’t take place in June, but will return in 2021 to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
Vélo Québec, too, has cancelled this summer’s Tour de l’île and Tour la Nuit.
The question remains: what will be the fate of June’s Montreal Grand Prix? It seems highly doubtful that it will take place. Or Osheaga, for that matter, which is scheduled for July 31 through Aug. 2.
Charles Décarie, president and CEO of the JFL group, wasn’t taking any chances. Nor did he want to wait any longer before coming to a scheduling decision. Booking talent for the summer at this late stage would have been problematic, particularly without an all-clear from authorities and assurances about a resumption of travel.
Plus, JFL shows and performers had already been announced, and now Décarie wants to assure those who had purchased festival passports — as well as tickets for the Ethnic and Nasty Show series, among others — that they will be honoured for the new dates.
“Our goal was to protect as much as possible this flagship,” Décarie said. “Combining the franco and the anglo content, this is the biggest comedy event in the world. And we want to maintain that leadership position.
“Just cancelling the festival was not an option. So many artists here and throughout the world have seen their careers launched at this festival. It’s important not just to keep it going for them, but also for Montreal, which is our base and our backyard, and we want to make sure Montreal remains its epicentre.”
Well and good, but the logistics entailed in moving JFL from summer to fall are massive. For starters, the outdoor element can’t be the same. And in terms of indoor venues, JFL is up against other cultural events that have long since booked space.
“We were lucky enough to secure venues across the city as soon as we saw the pandemic unfolding,” Décarie noted. “We also reached out to the artists and asked what they thought about postponing and their ability to come later, and the response was overwhelming, both from the comedians and the industry. Then we realized this was possible logistically.”
There was also the issue of the multiple TV contracts that JFL has signed to provide televised comedy content. But Décarie pointed out that the networks have also been receptive to the new dates.
“TV is no small issue. Those TV contracts not only allow us to bring in big talent, but also to maintain Montreal on the map.”
JFL also runs festivals in Toronto, Vancouver, Australia and
Bermuda, and the plan is to keep those going as well. The Toronto fest would now run just before Montreal’s, which would enable organizers to bicycle talent from one to the other.
Décarie can’t offer programming details yet, but the plan is to put on more than 200 shows, French and English, with 225 artists in 12 venues. The galas and Zoofest components, among other popular features, will remain.
“The street element is obviously more of a challenge,” Décarie explained. “Not just weather issues, but sanitary measures as well. So I’m not quite sure it will be possible. So what we envision — if possible and if sanitary measures permit — is, along with others, to do a weekend or two-weekend outdoor events in mid-september, limited in scale.”
Décarie is abundantly aware there are no guarantees as to when we will see the end of COVID-19. “We just have to remain hopeful.”
Because we could certainly use the laughs.